sotted, catered to B

n looked at her sideways, his pr

a gesture he' d never once offe

uelty, their hopes and feelings irrelevant no

owed to Brenda and

rnered me in the library,

that check-up

ast. My mind raced, s

minor heart palpitations,

eather-bound book from a high shelf. It l

her hand flyin

her side, feigning concern. "Are y

fanned her face, called f

t for the moment. My secret was saf

a tense family dinne

ing plans with Brenda, hi

es flicking towards me

my glass of

Ethan with a formality I hadn' t used since our childhood. "A

slightly, then t

cool detachment in my to

, a flicker of something unreadable

had signaled an emotiona

opened his mouth as if to s

covered. She placed a posse

her voice dripping with false

ely reclaiming his attention, h

y my change in demeanor, allowed Brenda to

my way throughout the dinner, but I

n still etched on his face. Brenda' s victory seemed com

d me in the conservatory, star

, Sarah," she said so

ed, my voice tired. "I am not a fi

gaze troubled. "I k

for what my foolishness, my meddli

ouldn't undo the years of pain, the chas

. "Some things, Eleanor, can' t be f

chemer, a gold-digger.

filled with a sa

ng to a conspiratorial whisper. "I' ve ha

rtility... I' ve had my people look into her

een infertile long before she met Ethan, due to certain... complication

gs about Brenda, but it changed